Story+1997-05-07+Vienna,+Austria

´´Thank you, danke....thank you, need a little bit of light up here (?)....(speaks German) (chuckles) oh yeah....let me see....ich, ich hatte einen wunderbaren Tag in Wien (chuckles) that´s right....drove around a little bit, had my Mozart on (chuckles)(?)....but, uh, alright... (tries the harmonica) the wrong one....oh, that wouldn´t´ve been very nice (chuckles)....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´Adam Raised a Cain´**

´´Thank you, this is a, uh, song about, uh....trying to change your life, I guess.....sort of everybody gets to a point where your, your old answers sort of run, run out on you....usually around 30 (chuckles) so, uh, this is a song about a fellow whose old answers have run out on him, he´s, uh....gotten out of prison and he´s trying to find his way back into his family and his way back into the world....and, uh, but it´s hard to change your old ways of doing things, that´s how we recognise ourselves so....everybody´s struggled with a little straight time....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´Straight Time´**

´´Thank you....thank you.....thank you.....yeah, I´d appreciate it if you brought your little flash cameras, not to use ´em, that way I, I can concentrate and I won´t fuck up up here and embarrass myself (chuckles) thank you....uh, ok....speaking about fucking up, alright (chuckles) this is a song about, uh, insight and, uh....unfortunately insight, uh, the older you get you realise, usually comes only after you´ve fucked up very badly unfortunately, that´s when, that´s when you have a....clear view of things so this is a song about sudden insight and a shoesalesman, it´s called ´Highway 29´....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´Highway 29´**

´´Ah, in the States we got a part of our population whose lives and dreams are considered expendable....we´ve got murder incorporated....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´Murder Incorporated´**

´´Thank you (someone yells) no, I´m not gonna do that damn thing (chuckles) this is a song I did last night, I was, uh....it´s not on a record, it´s kind of, uh, sort of a new song, I went back to my hometown, I played at my old Catholic school, I know there´s a lot of Catholics here in Austria so I´m sure you know what I´m talking about (chuckles) uh, the nuns in the black habits and the ruler and smack, smack (chuckles) but I went back to do a benefit at my Catholic school, which, I was saying last night, shows that the older you get, you get nostalgic about just about anything, you know, and, uh.....I was not sure about doing this song ´cause it´s a new song and there´s a lot of words in it and it´s all English words but I´m gonna give it a shot (chuckles) I´m gonna give it a shot and see if it works out, so I go back and I´m sort of, you know, big hero come back to town and all is forgotten and forgiven and, uh, the nuns are all there that taught me when I was in grammar school and they´re giving me big hugs and....and the priests are there, you know, and all my relatives, my whole fucking family´s there, uh....several of my older girlfriends were there also (chuckles) and, uh, so it´s kind of a, it´s kind of a big thing, you know (chuckles) and, uh, but I wrote a song dedicated to my hometown for this event, so, about growing up in my hometown so I´m gonna sing it now and, uh, imagine I´m onstage at my Catholic school....Jesus on the cross behind me (chuckles) alright, so I´m feeling a little funny about that but, uh.....the nuns and the priests and the whole town´s out in front of me....ok.....(cheers) wait, wait, now....I told ´em last night, you don´t know, it might be a shitty song, don´t clap in advance (chuckles) I don´t like to get any credit that I´m not due yet, alright (chuckles)(someone yells) and they came all this way just to see me right here in Vienna, alright.... (....) So....Jesus is on the cross behind me....but I said ´Aw, fuck it´ (chuckles)....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´In Freehold´**

´´Alright (chuckles) my lifestory (chuckles) I don´t have to write my autobiography now (chuckles) that´s my lifestory right there, well, and so I went from that and I wasn´t struck by lightning or cursed by God while I stood there on the stage so like my, my confidence came up and I decided to sing this next song.....which is about, uh, cunnilingus, a sexual practice, very popular in the United States (chuckles) and I heard that it´s well-known and used here in Vienna also (chuckles) and uh....I was a little nervous about the nuns being there but I figured they may have known a little bit more about cunnilingus than they were letting on, you know (chuckles) gets lonely in that convent, I don´t care what anybody says, alright, so (chuckles) so I hope as I sing this song, it´d be a pleasure that, that cunnilingus is being practised all around Vienna and....make it a very happy Austrian village, like I said last night and uh....I hope, I do mean ´practise´ because man....that´s not as easy as it looks first time out (chuckles) that´s, and uh.... so boys and, uh, girls too, enjoy yourselves, alright (chuckles)....and uh, there´s gonna be a little, uh, yodelling in the middle of this song, I know that´s popular in this part of the world (chuckles) so.(people yell) uh, wait a minute, I´ll tell you when, alright (chuckles) Well (yodels) I´m ready, alright (chuckles)....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´Red Headed Woman´ (following ´In Freehold´)**

´´(?) I looked down and all the nuns have passed out so (chuckles) I think they´ve passed out, alright (chuckles) alright....(?)....alright....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´The River´ (following ´Red Headed Woman´)**

´´Thank you (?)....(some guy: ´We love you, Bruce´) I love you too (chuckles)....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´Youngstown´**

´´Thank you....thank you, this is a song about, uh....woah ! a helicopter coming in 12 o´clock (chuckles)....I think we got a rhythm machine working now....either that´s gonna stop or I´m gonna have to find something in that tempo (chuckles) alright, ´cause I had a little techno going there for a minute (chuckles) this is a song, yeah, Mann, Frauen, Liebe, Sex (chuckles) wo ! let´s hear it for that (?) sehr schwierig, sehr schwierig (chuckles) aber notwendig, aber notwendig (chuckles) so this is, uh, I guess, about one of those relationships that´s sehr schwierig (chuckles) and, uh, uh, about one of those relationships where you don´t quite, didn´t quite get it something went wrong and uh....uh, like I was telling the folks last night, glad to be here in Dr.Freud´s hometown because, uh (chuckles) the man has helped me out with this kind of thing (chuckles) and uh, that´s all, the only thing I found out was that with love, uh, ´almost´ never counts....never counts at all, this is called ´Dry Lightning´....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´Dry Lightning´**

´´Thank you, this is a, uh, song, I guess, about, uh....it´s a sort of a prayer not to screw up (chuckles) and I think that, uh, everybody goes through all the relationships that they ruined, in some fashion, and they hope that they come along with one that they get close to right and I think that you have your kids and you look back and you go....you know, you try to change the things that you feel weren´t done right by you, try to do it right by them, you know, and uh...sometimes you´re successful, sometimes you´re not, I suppose, but, uh....this is a song about those things, I guess, about that effort, that effort to break the chain of things that were handed down to you and find your own life and help the kids find their own life (?) this is a new song, uh, it´s a happy song, like I was telling the folks last night, I don´t write many happy songs because, uh, I don´t trust them and I found out that the public doesn´t like them very much so (chuckles) but, uh, anyway, I couldn´t help myself and this one came out (chuckles) this is called ´Long Time Coming´....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´Long Time Coming´**

´´Thank you, this is, uh, Kevin Buell, my partner back there, there he goes....kind of shy.... low profile but, uh....here´s a song, the next four songs are set in the South, Southwestern part of the United States....and uh, I travel out there quite a bit....(?)....and uh, I like to take all the little, small county and state roads and I´d stay in all these little motels....and I was out with, uh, two or three friends of mine ´bout six years ago in Arizona, it was in the fall and we were staying in one of those little motels that, uh.....in a little, uh, you know, a little town, just four corners, a gas-station, a grocery store, a bar, a motel....all the elements for human life to flourish and do well, you know (chuckles) that, uh, that´s what they´re gonna find on those little bits of meteors from outer space, there´ll be a gas-station (chuckles) a bar (chuckles) ´There´s life !´ (chuckles) but uh (chuckles) but, uh, uh, anyway I was in one of those little motels where, like, you know, if you keep your door open, you can lay on the end of your bed and reach out and touch your car in the parking lot, that´s what I always say (chuckles) and, uh, my favorite kind actually (chuckles) and, uh, it was late at night and these two Mexican men came in driving a fruit truck and they come in from the west and they stayed in the room next to us and one was a young, young kid and the other was a fellow about my age, I guess, and, uh, uh, we got talking and....he started talking he had a younger brother who had died in a Southern California motorcycle accident and, uh, there was something about his, in his voice when he talked about his brother that always stayed with me and I was writing this song five years later, I guess, about the drug trade in Central California, we have, uh, Mexican gangs come up and hire migrant workers in Central Valley to work in the drug labs and they´re the ones that get busted or, or killed and, uh, it was a song about two brothers who come north and when I was writing I had the ghost of my friend´s voice....in my head so I dedicate this to him every night, my mysterious friend, wherever he might be, this is called ´Sinaloa Cowboys´....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´Sinaloa Cowboys´**

´´Thank you....thank you, this next song is, uh, set on San Diego-Tijuana border and, uh....in Southern California, there´s a lot of young guys that come out of the, come out of the army and end up going to work for the California border patrol....that´s a, uh.....difficult, confusing job, I think, the immigration issue in the States was sort of very abused during the last election and there´s always been people coming across the border doing jobs that nobody else wanted to do for a pay that nobody else would take....at the behest of American businesses and in return they´d get, uh.....their children might have a shot at little better education and some medical care so....but anyway this is about a young border patrolman trying to figure out just where that line is down there.....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´The Line´**

´´Thank you....thank you....this is a, uh, song about kids that come across the river, Tijuana River, into San Diego, they come over into San Diego, uh....running drugs and they end up on this strip called Twelfth Street....and uh, it´s funny, once you have your own kids (?) you always....you´re sensitive to, uh....uh, other children, you know, I think that, uh....the kids sort of with ´em, they´ve got this little window into the grace that´s in the world and they bring that with ´em when they come and I think that that´s....as an adult, as you....grow older, that can be harder to hold on to, I guess that´s why people come to concerts (?) art or engage in bizarre and unusual sexual practises, for that matter (chuckles) but, uh, to get some of that grace in their lives but kids sort of bring it with ´em when they come and I guess it´s sort of ...the adult´s position to protect that part of them until they....so that they´re allowed to grow in that grace until they´re old enough to protect themselves as best as they can and so this is about kids that don´t have anybody to protect that part of their lives....that´s what happens when that grace is, uh, violated....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´Balboa Park´**

´´Thank you....I, uh....I grew up in a house where there wasn´t,uh, there wasn´t a whole lot of talk about culture or, or music or books or art, everybody was sort of working to keep their heads above water, I guess....the first thing I remember having an impact on me was my mother, when I was in grammar school, she was still a pretty young gal and she liked that rock and roll music, you know, I would go down into the kitchen in the morning and she´d have the radio on on top of the refridgerator...and, you know, I was a little kid, I had my little green tie on and my green pants, going to a Catholic school and, uh, and, uh, but she had on all these great records (?) come into our kitchen in the morning, you know, when my, me and my sister would sit there and as time passed I remember feeling like I was hearing a secret message in all those records, you know, it just seemed to say ´There´s a party going on..... you´re missing it, little boy´ (chuckles) ´Tear off that tie´ (chuckles) ´Don´t go to school´ but, uh (chuckles) uh, but those records, the beauty in the singers´ voices, the excitement and the fun and the soulful seriousness, you know, uh, was the first thing that really gave me a sense of the world outside of my little town, you know....and, and of the life outside of lives that I saw being lived out around me....and uh, that sustained me for so long, it led me to....go out into that world, it was fortunate....and uh....then when I was 26, a friend of mine showed me John Ford´s Grapes of Wrath and that was, that film struck me the way that those great records did, you know, I recognised some part of myself or some hopeful part of myself in it anyway....and for many, many years, I bought the Steinbeck novel (?) I always return that movie, there was some sense of humanity in it that....that I liked and, uh, I felt connected to, I wanted my work to be connected to, in some fashion....but, uh, there was a scene at the end of the picture, I guess, in the end it´s a movie about somebody trying to salvage community, trying to save a sense of community from the forces that would tear it apart....and, uh, there´s a scene towards the end of the picture where Tom Joad´s killed a security guard who´s killed a friend of his and he´s gotta leave his family...he steps into his mother´s cabin, she´s asleep and he touches her on the shoulder and says ´I gotta go now´....and she knows she´s gonna lose her son after she´s lost her home and everything she´s had, they step out underneath these dark trees and she says....´I know you have to go but how will I know if you´re alive or how will I know if you´re well, will I ever see you ?´....and he says ´Well, all I know is I gotta go out and I gotta kick around and see what´s wrong and see if there´s anything I can do about it....and you´ll see me at night ´cause I´ll be in the darkness that surrounds you when, when you´re sleeping at night, Mama, and you´ll hear me in men´s voices when they´re angry and in kids laughing when they´re coming in at night and they know that they got a home and there´s food on the table´, he says ´You´ll, that´s where you´ll see me, look for me´...and he disappears into the night....and, uh....the next morning the Joads are in a truck heading north looking for work and the father says ´What are we gonna do without Tommy?´ and the mother says ´Well, we´re gonna keep going´, so this is a song about how people keep going even after the world deals its harshest blows and shows and reveals its senselessness....how people struggle together to make sense....of their lives and fall back on love and faith and ultimately on one another because, uh, that´s all there is.....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´Across the Border´**

´´Thanks....a special guest, is there a red headed woman in the house ?....la da dii da da daa....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´Two Hearts´**

´´Thank you, this is for all my young fans out there....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´No Surrender´**

´´Thank you....I want to, uh, thank everyone for coming down to the shows that we did here in Vienna, thank you very much.....I´m, uh.....I can´t tell you, uh, the warm reception you´ve given me, I promise, uh, I will not pass Vienna by again (chuckles)....so....(snaps his fingers) hold on, wait a second (people start clapping) no, no, just the fingers, let´s try just, just..... but it easy....just the fingers....just, uh, that.....what´s the word for fingers ? (chuckles)...aah, that´s it, here we go.....´´
 * 07.05.97 Vienna, Austria, intro to ´If I Should Fall Behind´**

//Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi//